The Russellville Democrat. [volume] (Russellville, Ark.) 1875-1898, 1887-04-27

FROM THE NATIONAL W. O. T. U.
Headquarters National woman's Christian
Temperance Union
CHICAGO, March 10, 1887.
tThis address was ordered by the
Thirteenth Annual Convention of the
National Woman's Christian Temper
ance Union held in Minneapolis, Min
nesota, October, 1861
BROTHERS:
We address you by this name, be-
cause we would not cherish toward
any human being feelings that would
render such designation untrue.
We have prayed for you too often 10
think of you other than with an I'M
speakable yearning of heart that you
might come to God. Perhaps NO
class Of ministers or laymen in the
one universal church of Christ, has
talked with so many embers OF
your various guilds as have the
members of the Woman's Christian
Temperance Union. From the days
OF the Crusade, in 1874, until this
day, we have been in the habit OF
pleading with you, personally and
by letter and address, to give up the
business of making and selling In
toxcating liquors as a drink. And
to your credit be it said, that In the
vast majority of instances, you have
treated us not only with politeness,
but with kindness. In our great
and successful campaign for prohi
pition for none of them have failed,
since even in Ohio, though we had
not constitutional majority, we had
over three hundred thousand votes
for prohibition to less than one hun
dred thousand for license, and in
Kansas, Iowa, Maine and Rhode
Island, we gained the Amendment,
in all these campaigns, we appeal to
you to say If we have ever manifest
ed spirit of harshness or bravado.
On the contrary, we have spoken
considerably of you as men, reserv-
ing our denunciations for the bust
ness in which you are engaged, for
the laws by which a legal status is
accorded to that business, for the
legislatures which enact such laws,
and the voters who are the power
behind this throne of iniqnity and
shame. Our most constant question,
learned in Gods Holy Book, has
been:
..shall the Throne of Iniquity have fellow
ship with thee, which frsmest mischief by a
lawT"
In Iowa, the Woman's Christian
Temperance Union, on the day after
the Prohibitory Amendment was rat
flied by the people, sent out an ad-
dress to all wac were engaged IN the
liquor business, promising to be their
most faithful patrons whenever these
men should take up line Of trade
that was not harmful to the interests
of Home
1t should be said that when we
have conversed with you in private
and prayed in your places OF busl-
ness, you have, in an overwhelming
majority of instances, used snch ex-
pressions as the following:
"You are right, ladies; but if we
didn't sell, somebody else would"
"This business is degrading, but our
money is in it," 1--WE mean to get
out of it as soon as we cam" III
You'll buy up our stock, Wen quit"
We know that in your ranks there
are many men by nature kind and
generous, and we believe that you
are yourselves among the most un-
fortunate victims of your own bev-
erages. In proof of this, we cite the
fact that few life insurance compa
MES wall take risks upon your lives,
so VIGOROUSLY does the ever present
supply lead to the Unsuitable demand ,
also to the fact that the casualties,
suicides, and murders so frequent in
your establishments, involve those
who sell, in numbers proportionately
as large as those who buy. We be-
lieSe, indeed, that your own mental
vision is dimmed, and the voice OF
conscience in your breasts is dead
ened by alcoholic poison. Lifted
out of the smoke and fumes of your
present environment, we believe your
perception of the relation which your
business holds to the interests of the
Homes and to the citizenship of the
Republic, would so appall you that
all of you who are not hopelessly
lwarled by greed of gain, would flee
he traffic ~ alcoholic poisons as you
would the pestilence.
In almost every State and Terrific
rs we have sent ont our appeal TO the
Legislature for protection from this
curse, and though often grieyousIy
disappointed, our plea has not been
altogether in vain. For thirteen
years we have petltloned Congress.
and at last secured, in the Scientific
Temperance Education Bill, the first
general temperance legislation known
10 its annals; while our pltilul cry
to the voters Of the Nation has been